


Not a Fan

by Starkspectacular



Series: Smoke and Pistols [1]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Comfort, Doctor's Office, F/M, Fluff, Needles, One Shot, Short & Sweet, shots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:41:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23123410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starkspectacular/pseuds/Starkspectacular
Summary: Riley finds out Arthur hasn't had any shots since he was a kid, and is kinda shocked to find out it's because he's scared of needles. One freak out in the doctor's office, and lot of love and affection.
Relationships: Arthur Morgan/Original Female Character(s), Arthur Morgan/Riley Jameson
Series: Smoke and Pistols [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1662112
Kudos: 18





	Not a Fan

**Author's Note:**

> Modern AU
> 
> I wrote this because I had to get a blood test today and was freaking out a bit, so my best friend who was with me told me to imagine Arthur getting a blood test and freaking the fuck out and Riley thinks it's the funniest shit because this man literally wrestles bears and gets shot on the daily basis but he can't handle a needle. 
> 
> And honestly,,,,,,
> 
> same

“Stop fidgeting.”

“I ain’t fidgeting.”

“Yeah, y’are. Look at your leg bouncin’ like a bronco. Keep still.” As Arthur huffed, Riley put her hand on his knee to keep it from jigging to it’s own anxious tune. They sat next to each other in an old hospital in their home town somewhere East of Texas, a quiet place with mostly older people that used the doctor’s office and hospitals frequently. That would explain the wait, anyhow. The chairs were old and the fabric so flat Riley felt like she was sitting on a brick, but it was better than the alternative of standing up around the outskirts of the waiting room like some of the younger patients. One of the good things about being a bit older, the younger kids would stand up to let them sit down. Being only in their thirties, Riley sometimes found it hilarious that they often mistook Arthur as older. He was just weathered, worked hard most his life and sure did have the scars and lines to prove it. Part of the reason she loved the big idiot. 

Below her palm Arthur’s knee started to jiggle again, and she made a point of digging her nails into the thick fabric of his jeans to remind him to calm the hell down. Honestly, it was like he was going in for major surgery and not just a standard booster shot and blood test.

A few weeks ago, back when Riley had cut her arm on a bad barbed fence and went to the doctors for a tetanus shot, Arthur had casually mentioned how he’d not had shots since he was a kid. The look of pure horror Riley gave him was enough to convince him he needed to book an appointment immediately. And while he bitched and moaned about not needing it, about that one time a bear got at him when he went camping with Hosea when he was a younger man, Riley still managed to drag him grumbling and mumbling to their local practice.

The wait was a long one, but she’d managed to get an appointment and so they had gone together, and now Riley firmly reminded Arthur with a gentle pat to his thigh why they were there.

“It’s just a scratch an’ then we’re gonna go to Target, kay?” She muttered under her breath, very aware of the silence in the waiting room aside from the hum of a shitty old radio on the window ledge. “I’ll getcha a milkshake if you’re brave.”

Arthur threw her a withering look and folded his arms across his chest, pulling the plaid shirt tight around his shoulders. Riley stifled a smirk and leaned against him, offering a little support with physical comfort. He relaxed a little, if reluctantly, and after a few minutes Riley was able to slide her hand into his and sit it in his lap.

“Morgan?” A woman came to the door of the doctor’s office’s, glancing around the crowded waiting room. Three men stood up, so the nurse rectified her announcement. “Arthur Morgan?”

In the doctor’s office, Arthur was tense, leg jigging up and down once again only this time Riley was halfway across the office in another chair.

“How you doin’ Mister Morgan?” The nurse asked, all smiles and polite conversation as she pulled up his medical records. Arthur shrugged, grunted something, and Riley rolled her eyes into the back of her head. He may seem rude to the untrained eye but when he was like this, Riley could practically taste the anxiety thrumming off of him. Three years together did have its perks and learning to read Arthur like a book was one of them.

“Well says here you had some shots as a boy but none when you got older. You wanna get yourself up to date, right?” Arthur grunted again, but after a quick look from Riley, he cleared his throat and sat forwards, both his hands on his knees to keep them still.

“Yes Ma’am, that’d be correct.” He said, and Riley relaxed back into her seat. Honestly, this man could handle a backfiring gun wound when hunting, a bear attack, dog bites, and getting kicked off of horses more times than a human probably should, and here he was, absolutely terrified of needles. It would be laughable if Riley didn’t feel the immense urge to protect the man shaking in his boots.

“Alright well I can get you up to date on at least four of them now, but you gotta come back for any specific ones you want like tetanus and such. Just in case of injury, but you look like a man that attracts injury.” The nurse smiled at him and Riley was pleased to see the ghost of a smile appear on Arthur’s lips until he realised what she’d said.

“Four? I thought we was only gettin’ one t’day?” He said, mostly speaking to Riley with a lilt of panic in his voice.

“It ain’t so bad, sweetheart! Now could you get me your arm out that’d be great. Non-dominant hand, please. I’ll go get the shots.” The nurse was bustling about and Arthur looked like he was about to vomit where he sat, so Riley stood up and moved to hover behind him with her hands on his shoulders.

She slowly soothed her hands up and down his arms and bent to press her lips to his cheek.

“It’s alright, I’ll be right here.” Her voice was calming and sure, gentle enough to make him feel secure. She felt the tension roll out of his shoulders and smiled to herself, pleased when he started to unbutton the shirt to reveal his left arm.

The nurse was back and hovering again, wiping something on Arthur’s bare arm. It looked cold, and the slight tremor in Arthur’s shoulders could have been an indicator of that or of his fear. She rested her hand on his chest, an open invitation that he took willingly. His large hand wrapped around hers, holding onto her tightly.

“Just a sharp scratch, kay?” The nurse said, and in the blink of an eye, the first shot was done. Arthur was tense, shoulders squared, but he relaxed easily with each shot until the nurse was sticking a brightly coloured bandaid to the spot. “Alright! All done. Like I said, come back in a few weeks if you want any other specific ones, but this should keep you good for a long while now.”

Arthur damn near melted in his seat, relief so evident on his face that Riley couldn’t help but cup his cheeks and bend down to kiss his forehead.

“Big bear of a man can withstand a bear attack, but shots? God forbid.” Riley teased, and the nurse snorted where she was disposing of the medical waste.

Five minutes later they were back in Riley’s truck, driving at 60 down a road nobody took into town. The windows were rolled down and Arthur’s arm rested on the car door. The radio played an old Fleetwood Mac song and Riley sang along, hair billowing behind her and sunglasses firmly on her nose. It was nice to sit quietly with each other like this, sometimes casting gentle looks from the corners of their eyes while the other wasn’t looking. Riley knew she’d chosen good with this one, and she intended to keep him. If it meant getting Arthur all his shots, and holding his hand through the pain, then damn right she was going to do it. If it meant sitting with him when their old dog Copper died, then she would sit until he was alright again. If it meant living together on a little ranch just outside of town, raising horses and teaching little kids how to ride, then that’s exactly what she was going to do. The hot sun beat down on the roof of the car but the wind was pleasant, a small grace on such a hot day. Parched, Riley cleared her throat and caught Arthur’s gaze with a sly smirk.

“So. Wanna go to Chick fil a?” Riley asked, and Arthur gave a dramatic groan and threw his head back to howl like a dog out the window. That was a yes, then.

Hell yeah.


End file.
